''The Cabinet of Light'' was the ninth novella published by

Telos Publishing Ltd. Telos Publishing Ltd. is a publishing company, originally established by David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker, with their first publication being a horror anthology based on the television series '' Urban Gothic'' in 2001. The name comes from ...

as part of its

Doctor Who novellas Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

series. It was written by

Daniel O'Mahony Daniel O'Mahony (born 24 July 1973) is a half-British half-Irish author, born in Croydon. He is the oldest of five children, his siblings including Eoin O'Mahony of the band Hamfatter, and Madeleine O'Mahony, who has designed and made hats for Ca ...

and was published as a standard edition hardback and a deluxe edition with a frontispiece by

John Higgins John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...

(). Both editions had a foreword by Chaz Brenchley. The novella featured an unspecified future incarnation of the

Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

who appears to be travelling without a companion, although it is hinted that

Emily Blandish Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * "Emily" (Dave Koz song), a 1990 song ...

may have been travelling with him. The story focuses mostly on

Honoré Lechasseur Honoré Lechasseur is one of two main characters in the '' Doctor Who'' spin-off ''Time Hunter'' series published by Telos Publishing Ltd. He is a time sensitive, which means that he possess the ability to see into people's pasts and futures whe ...

, an ex-GI turned

spiv In the United Kingdom, the word spiv is slang for a type of petty criminal who deals in illicit, typically black market, goods. The word was particularly used during the Second World War and in the post-war period when many goods were rationed du ...

who is searching for the Doctor. Although the novella is now out of print, the characters of Emily and Honoré continued their adventures in the Telos

Time Hunter Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to co ...

series of novellas. The book was not written with a spin-off series in mind, but was created by Telos after its licence to publish ''Doctor Who'' came to an end.

Synopsis

Honoré Lechasseur, a "fixer" with time-sensitive abilities, is hired by Emily Blandish to find someone known only as the Doctor. He soon discovers that the Doctor is a legendary figure who has drifted in and out of Earth's history. As he follows the trail of the Doctor, questions arise: what is the Doctor's connection with 1949

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and with the mysterious "cabinet of light" that another group is seeking?

Plot

Set in 1949, the novella tells the story of Honoré Lechasseur, an ex-GI who is living and working in London as a spiv. He is hired by a woman claiming to be Emily Blandish to track down her husband, the Doctor, and soon becomes embroiled in the machinations of a Nazi named Walken and a mysterious woman named Mestizer. Both are looking for the Doctor and something called "The Cabinet of Light", which is somehow connected to him. Honoré is mistaken for the Doctor on more than one occasion because, as a time sensitive, his aura bears a passing similarity to the Time Lord's. This leads to him being kidnapped by Mestizer's servant, a hulking

cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

named Abraxas, and to learn about the Doctor's apparent connection to "the girl in the pink pyjamas", a mysterious amnesiac who appeared in the East End of London after what was assumed to be the detonation of an unexploded bomb. In speaking to her, Honoré helps her regain a small part of her lost memory: her name - Emily Blandish. Honoré confronts his employer, the faux Emily, but does not manage to elicit much information before she is killed by Abraxas. His investigation lead him back to Walken's club, but he is caught in the crossfire as Mestizer attacks. Honoré only manages to escape thanks to the aid of a mysterious stranger who identifies himself only as "The Doctor". Honoré follows the Doctor to his confrontation with Mestizer, but fails to understand much of what he sees. The Cabinet of Light turns out to be the Doctor's

TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior ap ...

, and it is used to vanquish the enemy and allow the Doctor to escape. Mestizer disappears, leaving Abraxas to complete his mission: killing the real Emily Blandish. Honoré manages to defeat the cyborg and he and Emily go to London.

Audiobook

In September 2008, Telos announced that a fan production company, Fantom Films, had been licensed to produce audiobook readings of the ''Time Hunter'' novellas for release on CD and as online downloads. The series begins with ''The Cabinet of Light'', read by the former ''Doctor Who'' actor

Terry Molloy Terry Molloy (born 4 January 1947) is an English actor. He is known predominantly for his work on radio and television, especially his portrayal of Davros, creator of the Dalek, Daleks, in the BBC television science fiction series ''Doctor Who ...

and released in November 2008. Changes have been made to the text of this version of ''The Cabinet of Light'' to allow it to stand as a ''Time Hunter'' novella independent of its ''Doctor Who'' connections.

Reception

''The Cabinet of Light'' won Best Book in the 2003 Jade Pagoda Awards.

Reviews

''The Cabinet of Light''
reviews at Infinity Plus

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabinet of Light, The Fiction set in 1949 2003 British novels 2003 science fiction novels Time Hunter Doctor Who novellas Novels by Daniel O'Mahony British novellas Novels set in London Telos Publishing books